Wind turbines for generating electricity in their most basic form comprise a rotor having blades, scoops or other means of creating drag against moving wind to rotate the rotor, a drive shaft rotated by the rotor and a generator converting the rotational energy of the rotor to electrical energy. An electrical generator in its most basic form typically generates electricity using the rotational energy of the rotor to rotate, via the drive shaft, permanent magnets contained within the generator near fixed wire windings also contained within the generator. Rotating the permanent magnets near the fixed wire windings allows the magnetic field generated by the permanent magnets to act on the fixed wire windings thereby generating electrical current in the wire windings. Typically, wind turbines fall into two general categories: horizontal axis wind turbines in which the rotor rotates about a horizontal axis parallel to the ground and vertical axis wind turbines in which the rotor rotates about a vertical axis perpendicular to the ground.
Beyond the mechanical limitations of conventional wind turbines, the aesthetic appearance of conventional wind turbines is often a major hindrance to their widespread use, particularly in densely populated urban areas. Large horizontal axis wind turbines typically require tall supports to provide sufficient clearance to rotate the blades as well as requiring 360 degree clearance so as to allow the rotor assembly to compensate for changing wind directions. The height of horizontal axis wind turbines and the large clearance required often limit the use of horizontal axis wind turbines to low population density areas such as rural areas. The noise created by these large turbine blades can be objectionable which also limits the areas where they can be used. Finally the large rotating blades of horizontal axis wind turbines are responsible for the deaths of numerous migrating birds and bats. Estimates of the number of birds killed annually by wind turbines in the United States run up to 500,000.
While a number of solutions have been proposed to address these technical and aesthetic problems, the solutions themselves often require complex and costly mechanical systems that require significant maintenance and often significantly increase the size and weight of the overall wind turbine. Similarly, such mechanical systems will decrease the efficiency of the overall wind turbine by adding additional friction to the system. As such, there is a need for a simple yet effective solution to address these technical and aesthetic problems which the present invention described herein does.
Numerous innovations have been provided in the prior art that are adapted to wind turbines. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific purposes to which they address, however, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention.
For example, U.S. Patent Application No. 2011/0204638 to Lahtinen discloses a wind turbine that includes a rotatable substructure rotating about a vertical axis and a base assembly. A plurality of wind collectors are affixed to the periphery of the rotatable substructure and provide drag against wind passing the wind turbine to rotate the rotatable substructure. A plurality of permanent magnets is affixed to the rotatable substructure and rotates as the rotatable substructure turns. A plurality of wire windings are affixed to the base assembly such that the wire windings are exposed to magnetic fields of the permanent magnets as the substructure is rotated to generate an electrical current.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2014/0117,948 to Yasugi et al. teaches a voltage control method for a voltage control apparatus to be used in a generator system that includes a wind turbine generator having a switching device for controlling a generator; and a capacitor bank for improving power factor provided between the wind turbine generator and a utility grid
U.S. Patent Application No. 2015/0008,671 to Palomares Rentero et al. teaches a wind turbine pitch drive system comprising an electric grid for supplying electrical power, a motor for driving a pitch actuator, an electronic converter for controlling the motor and a back-up energy storage unit for supplying electrical power. The electronic converter comprises a DC-link capacitor bank.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,172,321 to Thisted et al. describes an electrical yaw drive for a wind turbine that includes a wind turbine nacelle and a wind turbine tower. The electrical yaw drive has an asynchronous motor, an excitation capacitor bank and dump loads, which are electrically connectable to windings of the asynchronous motor.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,431,944 to Gregg et al. discloses a wind turbine and generator arrangement comprising a turbine that drives a self-excited induction generator via a shaft and mechanical gearbox. The induction generator includes an electrical circuit that includes a variable capacitance that constitutes a fixed capacitor and a triac under the control of a controller, or by a bank of capacitors switched by a relay under control of the controller.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,825,562 to Naganawa et al. discloses a distribution winding stator using a coil for a rectangular conductor. A conductive wire of a rectangular shape in cross section is double-wound, and is allowed to be shifted by the whole width of the wire having double-wound the crowns of both ends, and is formed to crank shape so as to become a length within the range of the intervals of the adjacent slots, so that the conductive wire is formed by being inserted into the slot of the stator.
It is apparent now that numerous innovations that are adapted to wind turbines and methods for generating electricity have been developed in the prior art that are adequate for various purposes. Furthermore, even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific purposes to which they address, accordingly, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described. Thus an integrated capacitance wind turbine assembly and an integrated wire equivalent wind turbine assembly to generate electricity without using conventional wire windings are needed.